US envoy urges United Nations to renew Iran arms embargo
- ‘If we let it expire, you can be certain that what Iran has been doing in the dark, it will do in broad daylight and then some,’ Brian Hook said
- Brian Hook said that the world should ignore Iran’s threats to retaliate if the arms embargo set to expire in October is extended
An expiring United Nations weapons embargo on Iran must remain in place to prevent it from “becoming the arms dealer of choice for rogue regimes and terrorist organisations around the world,” the US special representative to Iran said Sunday.
Brian Hook told The Associated Press that the world should ignore Iran’s threats to retaliate if the arms embargo set to expire in October is extended, calling it a “mafia tactic”. Among its options, the Islamic Republic could expel international inspectors monitoring Iran’s nuclear program, deepening a crisis created by President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrawing from Tehran’s 2015 atomic accord with global powers.
The UN arms embargo so far has stopped Iran from purchasing fighter jets, tanks, warships and other weaponry, but has failed to halt its smuggling of weapons into war zones. Despite that, Hook argued both an import and export ban on Tehran must remain in place to secure the wider Mideast.
“If we let it expire, you can be certain that what Iran has been doing in the dark, it will do in broad daylight and then some,” Hook said.
Iran’s mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Hook’s remarks. However, President Hassan Rowhani described 2020 as Iran’s “most difficult year” on Sunday due to the US economic pressure campaign and the coronavirus pandemic.